Steeper Than It Looks
by tinx-r
Summary: Nick, Cody & Murray head into the Santa Monica mountains to test Murray's new invention. But has something gone wrong? Slash implied


**Steeper Than It Looks**

We'd left 101 and Satwiwa Park 10 minutes ago, and the jolting from the rough service road was making my arm throb. It seemed a hell of a lot further to the rim of Big Sycamore Canyon than I remembered. "Nick, are you sure you took the right fork back there?"

"Cody, you told me which road to take," Nick complained, shooting me one of his looks. "Murray, have you got that map the park ranger sent you?"

"Sure, Nick." Murray and the Roboz were in the back, along with a bunch of assorted wires and gadgets. He pulled out the map and gazed at it.

I looked over my shoulder at him, and despite my sore arm I grinned at our resident genius reading the map upside down. "Murray! Turn it over."

"Oh!" He giggled. "Oh, thanks Cody." He turned it over, and looked at it just as blankly. "Um... which road are we on now?"

"Don't worry about it, Boz," Nick interrupted. "I think we're here." He pulled the Jimmy into a clearing at the edge of the road and I turned to look.

Big Sycamore Canyon, deceptively green and gentle-looking, was laid out below us. It was plenty steep and rough enough to provide the terrain Murray needed to test his latest invention, a communication device that was supposed to work even when there was a mountain in the way. "Is that enough mountain for you, Boz?" I asked, pointing at the bare peak of Boney Mountain, stark and improbable above the gently waving treetops.

"Isn't it a long way away, though, Cody? I thought we were just going to test in the canyon today." Murray clambered out of the truck and walked towards the canyon's edge. "I think there are enough natural rock formations around here for the preliminary testing we're planning. Wasn't that the point of getting permission to use these fire roads, guys? So we didn't have to hike for miles and miles?" The little guy looked horrified at the thought.

"Sure, Murray." Nick jumped out of the Jimmy and shot me another glare. "Cody's teasing you, man. It's gonna be a hundred degrees out here in a couple of hours. We're not hiking up the peak in this kind of weather. You and the Roboz have all the testing locations worked out already, don't you?"

"Oh, yes, Nick." Murray nodded vigorously. "They're all located around a central point - why, I guess that's here!" He giggled, then added, "It means we don't have to leave you by yourself for too long either, Cody."

"I don't need babysitting," I snapped, climbing out of the truck and swinging my injured arm, showing them I was fine. A crook we were chasing had winged me last week. It wasn't serious even though it still hurt a lot more than I thought it needed to, and I was getting tired of the mothering from my two partners.

"Will you stop trying to be Superman already?" Nick came over, looking exasperated, and grabbed my uninjured shoulder. "Cody, put your arm back in the sling."

"I'm fine." I pulled away from him and walked to the canyon's edge, ignoring his muttered "Cody, for fuck's sake..." behind me. I heard him start unloading the equipment, and wished for a moment that he'd come after me again instead and made me put the goddamned sling on. My arm hurt less in it and after the jolting on the fire road it would have been a welcome relief, but if I used the sling voluntarily they'd know I was sore.

I leaned against one of the huge sycamores that named the canyon and looked across at the rugged walls on the opposite side. It was lucky we weren't up here after bad guys today - this would be a bad place for a shoot-out. Some cover, sure, but the rock walls would cause ricochets in every direction, and the brush wasn't thick enough for effective cover. A sniper could sit up on this ridge and watch the trail -

I stopped the thought when I realized where it came from. Last time I'd been up here, 20 odd years ago on a Boy Scout excursion, I'd thought it was a pretty canyon. Back then, I had no idea that I was headed somewhere where scenery meant cover and defensive positions. Two years of looking at landscape that way sure left an impression.

"Cody," Murray called from behind me. I turned back to where he was assembling his equipment, squatting at the rear of the Jimmy, busy with wires and the Roboz.

"What's up, Boz?"

"Come over here, Cody, and let me show you what to do with this transceiver."

All the testing sites were in steep, rocky places I couldn't get to safely with only one working arm so I'd agreed to stay and monitor the equipment up here. It was going to be dead boring, I was sure of that, but it beat spending the day by myself on the boat. "Coming." I headed towards him, pointedly not looking at Nick, who was leaning against the side of the truck. I could feel his eyes on me.

Murray looked up as I arrived next to him. "See, this is very advanced engineering, this transceiver, Cody. It's a very exciting breakthrough. It can modulate and encode a signal so that - "

"Hey, Murray," I interrupted him, "can I have it in English, please? Just what you need me to do, huh? Not what it does."

"Oh? Oh, yeah, Cody, sorry." He grinned happily at me. "But really, this is very boss technology. I could explain it all to you if you want - to both of you."

"Cody and I'd love that, Murray," Nick said from close behind me. "But the sun's gonna be pretty fierce today. The earlier we get out on the trails the better, you know?"

I stiffened, waiting for Nick to bug me about the sling again. Instead, he moved away without speaking to me, going over to Murray's other side and squatting down by a black box next to the Roboz.

"You're right Nick." Murray bobbed his head enthusiastically. "See, Cody, the transceiver will alert you if you need to make any inputs, all right? It will beep like this." He did something to the overgrown calculator in front of him, and it let out a soft electronic blip.

I nodded absent-mindedly, looking at Nick's back instead of the device I was supposed to be learning about. Having him fuss over me was irritating, but him ignoring me was worse.

"Cody? Are you listening?"

"Sure, Boz." I turned back to Murray, nodding and trying to look interested. "If it beeps, it wants me to do something, right?"

"That's right." Murray nodded approvingly. "If it beeps, there's a sequence of buttons you need to push. These ones." He demonstrated on the small keypad, pushing 3 colored buttons. "Do you want me to write it down for you?"

"No Murray, I think I can remember red, green, yellow," I snapped, shorter than I intended to be.

"Are you okay, Cody?" he asked, looking worried. "Is your arm hurting?"

"Will you two stop nursemaiding me?" I stepped back abruptly, glaring at Murray, and then at Nick as he stood up and turned to face me. "My arm's fine. Is that all I have to do? Push those buttons if it beeps?"

Murray nodded. "Yes, that's right. The Roboz is recording everything. It just might need the confirmation sequence re-entered." He hesitated, looked at Nick then back at me, and gave an uncertain nod. I felt a pang of guilt at the concern in his brown eyes. "Any problems, push the red button three times. It'll alert me on my handheld unit and I'll come back."

"I think I can handle that." I summoned a grin for him. "Red, green, yellow if it beeps. If it catches on fire, red, red, red."

Murray gave his high pitched laugh. "Oh, that's a good one Cody. If it catches on fire - " He dissolved into giggles. "I sure hope it doesn't do that, anyhow."

"So do I, Boz." Nick held out a wide black belt to Murray and I realized he'd been getting out the rest of their testing kit.

"Hey, thanks, Nick." I watched Murray strap on the thick webbing belt, and slot two black instruments that looked to me like small radio handsets into its holsters. "Nick, you remember the drill?"

"Sure, Murray." Nick was fastening a similar belt. "You had me go through it about 90 times yesterday, remember? And again this morning before we left. Anything I can do at 4am, I can do now."

"I'm just making sure, Nick. I'm very excited about the results of this experiment, guys. Let me just check the equipment one more time, and then we'll start out, okay?" Murray turned to the Roboz.

Nick finished securing his belt and came to stand beside me. "My arm's fine," I growled.

"I get it, okay?" His hand landed on my shoulder. "You're the man of steel. Lucky me."

"Shut up." I pulled away. "Nick, will you stop fussing?"

"Didn't think I was, man." He shrugged. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, Cody."

"Guys!" Murray jumped up. "Nick, are you ready? Cody, you're the hub of the control center! This is going to be so boss."

I watched my partners head off, Murray taking Big Sycamore Trail over the canyon's rim and Nick setting off down the fire road to where the loop trail climbed towards the Danielson Monument. I looked glumly at the Roboz. It was gonna be a long two hours, watching Murray's gray transceiver do a whole lot of nothing.

I'd suspected from the start that this job Boz had me doing wasn't necessary. The Roboz was doing all the recording, and I knew from experience that the little fella was more than capable of pushing three buttons in a row. 'The hub of the control center' indeed. It was the sort of thing me and Nick said to Murray when we wanted him to stay behind. Translated, it meant: "Stay here where we know you're safe and you won't slow us down."

Left behind so I wouldn't slow Nick down. That was an inspiring thought. I moved back to the Roboz and sat down, leaning against a rock, and rested my arm in my lap. Even that small support felt better, and I sighed, closing my eyes. Yup, today I was no damned use to anyone, that was for sure.

A soft electronic blip jerked me back to awareness and I realized I'd dozed off. RED GREEN YELLOW was flashing on the Roboz's screen. I scrambled to the gray box and pressed the keys, and saw the message change: THANK YOU CODY.

"My pleasure," I muttered, and stood up, trying to orient myself, still tangled in the remnants of the dream I'd been having.

The sweet, airy scent of the sycamores in the sun filled my awareness, catapulting me back to the last time I'd been up here. I raised my hand to my neck, almost expecting to find a boy-scout toggle, then shook my head again. _'That was 20 years ago,'_ I told myself, blinking at the Roboz and the Jimmy.

That dream had felt damned real though. I looked around me, almost able to hear the voices of my troupe-mates in the lazy thrum of the cicadas. Almost able to believe I was fourteen years old, ready for a day of orienteering and adventures. Ready for the life my parents had planned for me.

I went to the Jimmy and pulled a water bottle out of the small cooler stashed in the back seat. Gulping it cleared my head some, helped push the past away. _'Fourteen. Christ.'_ I'd known everything back then. What I was gonna be when I grew up. What was important. What was right.

That was before Granddad died and Mom and Dad dragged me off to Connecticut. My gut clenched at the memory. Up till then, life was easy. Scouts, school, surfing, every break with Grandad on the boat. After that - fuck, how I'd hated that one winter back east. The cold, gray light you never see on this coast, it was like it drained all my energy. When I go back now to visit Mom, I make sure I go in summer.

I took another swallow of water and leaned my arm on the hood of the car. The detective business was a lot more dangerous than the law career they'd had planned out for me. Didn't pay as well either.

And it didn't mean sitting in an air-conditioned office five days a week in a suit and tie. I doubt I could have stomached that, even if I'd never gone to war. Never had to figure out that all the things I used to think were black and white were every goddamned color of the rainbow.

A crackle from the transceiver startled me and I headed back towards the equipment. I heard my partners' voices faintly, and realized they must be at one of the testing stations. _'Maybe I can find the volume - '_

CODY DON'T TOUCH

I sighed and dropped my head. Yup. Roboz was the hub of the control center. Me? Merely a grunt. Maybe if I asked the boss nicely? "Roboz, can we turn the volume up?"

SORRY CODY  
NO VOLUME

"Just swell." I sighed again. Checking my watch, I was surprised to see Nick and Murray'd been gone for nearly an hour - my doze must've been longer than I thought. Only another hour to put in.

Returning to my rock I sat down again, resting my arm in my lap and allowing myself a groan at the relief. The day was starting to heat up and my wound was responding by itching. The bandage felt tight and uncomfortable, and I rested the cool bottom of the water bottle against the flesh of my upper arm. It felt nice and I closed my eyes again.

I was just starting to feel comfortable when the transceiver summoned me with its mechanical beep. I clambered to my feet and pushed the keys, seeing Roboz flip up his thank you message, and was about to sit down again when I heard Murray's voice, clear and understandable this time. "Nick! Nick, come in." I waited, but there was no response from my other partner.

Murray spoke again. "Nick, do you read me? Nick, come in."

I looked at the Roboz, then at the Jimmy. "Fuck." They hadn't given me a handset or any way of communicating with them. I couldn't tell Murray I could hear him or ask where Nick was. If something had happened, I was no damned use at all, in fact. I leaned closer to the transceiver, hoping for an answer.

All I got was Murray again. "Nick, if you can hear me, Station 5. I am at Station 5. Come in, Nick."

_'Station 5.'_ I hurried to the Jimmy and grabbed the location map Murray had hand-drawn. At least he'd left me a copy of that. Reading it, I saw that Nick's Station 5 was the highest testing point, over a mile up the loop track.

"Nick, do you read me?" I heard Murray again and swallowed hard. Maybe Nick's radio was acting up. I hoped that was all it was, but couldn't help thinking that something might've happened up there. It was damned rough and rocky, the way I remembered it, and if he'd slipped there were plenty of places to fall. Plenty of rocks to fall on, too.

I walked out to the access road and stood on the gravel, feeling the bite of the sun through my cotton shirt. _'Nick, where are you?'_ I looked up towards the loop track, searching in vain for movement in the trees or a figure on the trail. What I wanted to do was set off up there and find him.

Just then, movement on the trail caught my eye and I stiffened. It was hard to tell at this distance, but it looked like a group of hikers, two or three perhaps, headed down. I slumped, then realized that they might have seen Nick.

I cast an uncertain glance at the Roboz. I shouldn't leave him unattended, but if the hikers turned the other way at the bottom of the loop, heading down into the canyon or off towards another road exit, I'd miss them. I hesitated briefly, but my fear for Nick rose in my throat and I started down the fire road. _'It isn't far to the bottom of the loop - I'll only be away five minutes,'_ I reassured myself.

When I reached the bottom of the trail, the hikers weren't in sight. I looked back once at the Jimmy, half-hidden by the trees, and started to climb the dusty track. The first 100 yards were very steep, over granite rock, and I panted upwards, holding my injured arm tight against my chest. I slipped before I'd got far up the rocky path, and put my hands out to save myself without thinking. The sharp pain in my wound took my breath away, or I would've screamed. I dropped to my knees, eyes watering, gasping for air.

I was still struggling to breathe when someone grasped my shoulders. "What the hell are you doing, Cody?"

_'Nick.'_ I closed my eyes and went limp with relief. I didn't have enough air to answer him.

"Cody." His voice was gentler this time. "Easy, man." One of his arms went around my chest, supporting me, and I let him take my weight. His other hand rubbed my back and I lowered my head, breathing as deeply as I could.

"Nick," I whispered, once I had breath spare for talking. "You didn't answer - Murray." I stopped, breathed a few more times.

"My radio quit," he said, still rubbing my back. "Let me see your arm, huh?" He raised me so I was kneeling, leaning back against him, and I felt his hand on my arm, below the bandage. The wound was burning, and I hissed through my teeth, warning him.

"Yeah, buddy, I know," he said. "What'd you do, catch yourself on it?"

"Slipped," I murmured. "Put my hands out - didn't think."

"Doesn't look like it started bleeding again. Hold it against your chest, babe." I did as he told me, and let him help me up, glad of his arm around me.

Going down was harder than coming up, so it was lucky I hadn't made it far. Even so, the party of hikers I'd seen passed us before we made it back to the road. When we did, Nick eased me onto a rock at the bottom of the trail. "Stay there, Cody," he said, panting from heat and exertion. "I'm gonna get the truck."

"Don't be silly, Nick," I protested. "It's only a couple of hundred yards. I can walk that far."

"Maybe you can." He smiled at me. "But you're not gonna. Understand me?"

I opened my mouth to argue, and changed my mind when I saw the look in his eyes. "Thanks, Nick," I said instead.

He turned and jogged down the gravel road and I leaned forward, feeling nausea rise in my throat. The sun, fiercer now, beat on my head and I felt the blood pounding in my ears. Walking even that far would've been a challenge, the way I felt right now. I closed my eyes, and next thing I knew Nick's arm was around me again. "Come on, babe," he said, in my ear.

I lifted my head slowly. "Huh?"

"Come on, Cody." Nick's arm supported me and I stumbled to my feet. Sliding into the cool cab of the Jimmy was a welcome relief from the heat, and when I felt the water bottle against my lips I drank gratefully. By the time Nick had finished fastening my arm into the sling I was feeling a whole lot better.

"Nick," I said softly.

"What, baby?" He stroked my cheek, looking at me anxiously, and smiled in relief when I managed to grin at him.

"Love you."

"I love you too. But don't even think of complaining about the sling."

"I won't. I'm sorry I was being an asshole this morning."

"Let's get back to the Roboz, huh?" He rubbed my thigh, smiling at me. "Murray'll be back soon and then we can go home."

"Sounds good."

Nick patted my shoulder and closed the door on me. I closed my eyes again, leaning my head back against the headrest, wishing I could lie down. I felt the truck jiggle as he jumped into the driver's seat, and groaned softly at the vibration when the engine started. My head was starting to ache now too.

There was nowhere to turn around, so Nick reversed the Jimmy back to the clearing we'd been parked in. This time when he helped me out of the car, standing up was too much for my rising nausea. "Nick," I gulped.

He steadied me as I dropped to my knees and held me while I retched, rubbing my back. When I was done, he half-carried me to a shady spot a little farther from the Roboz. Stretched out on the ground, leaning against him, I sipped more water.

"Feeling better?" he asked me softly.

"Yeah." I rubbed my head against his shoulder.

"Good." He kissed my temple. "Lean against the tree for a minute, okay?" Nick moved and I felt his warm bulk behind me replaced with a knobbly trunk. "I want to get some things from the truck. Will you be okay?" He squatted next to me, concern in his eyes.

"Yeah. I'm good." I tried for a reassuring smile, my eyelids heavy from the headache. He stroked my cheek.

Nick jogged over to the Roboz, then went to the truck, returning quickly with aspirin and an icepack. "Where'd you get that?" I muttered as he held it to my forehead.

"I stuck it in the cooler this morning. Just in case of accidents."

I sighed happily as he pulled me against him again. "You're so much more comfortable than the tree."

Nick chuckled. "Swallow these and shut up."

I did as he said and let my eyes close, enjoying the relief. I heard Murray's voice, shrill and excited, but was too comfortable to check out what was going on. He didn't sound like he was in trouble.

I felt Nick moving next to me, then my head rested on soft cloth. Murray's shouts continued, so I forced my eyes open, and Nick stepped into my field of vision, grabbing Murray's wrists.

"Murray!" I heard Nick say. "Just do what you need to do to record the data. Take it easy. Cody's okay."

_'Huh?'_ I moved and realized my head was pillowed on Nick's jacket instead of Nick. "Nick?"

"Cody!" Nick released Murray's wrists and came over. "How you feeling, man?"

"Better." I started to sit up and he dropped next to me, his arm going around me, lifting me the rest of the way. "Much better." My headache was gone, and the burn in my arm had subsided to a familiar throb.

"Cody! Cody, are you okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded and raised my head, smiling at Murray as he hurried over. "I'm good, Boz."

"Thank goodness!" He blinked behind his glasses and squeezed my good shoulder. "Wow, I was so worried when I saw the alarm signal on my unit! Luckily I was nearly back anyhow, since I couldn't get through to Nick." He looked uncertainly over at the Roboz and the Jimmy, then turned back. "Cody, maybe we should leave right now and get you to the hospital. Recording the data's not that important - "

"Hospital?" I interrupted him. "Murray, I'm not going anywhere." I sat up straighter, pulling away from Nick's supporting arm. "I'm fine."

"Go and sort your data out, Murray," Nick said, and his arm tightened around me again. "Cody doesn't need to go to the hospital, but the sooner we're off this mountain the better, you know?"

"I'm fine," I repeated.

Murray straightened up. "Well, if you're sure, guys." He glanced at his equipment again. "It won't take me long to get the data uploaded. Ten minutes or so?"

"Great, Murray. Take all the time you need."

"Call me when you want me to start packing, Boz."

Murray nodded. "Will do, Nick. Ten minutes'll do it." He pushed his glasses up his nose and headed back towards the Roboz.

I went to get up, but Nick's arm stopped me. "Nick, I'm okay."

"You nearly weren't, though, huh? What the hell were you thinking, trying to climb that trail, Cody?"

"I was worried about you!" I turned to face him. "Nick, when you didn't answer Murray - " I swallowed. "I was scared something had happened, okay? And I guess I didn't realize how steep that part was - " I stopped, meeting his eyes. It didn't need words to tell me how badly Nick wanted to keep me safe. I felt the same way about him, and that was what had driven me up the rocky trail earlier. "I love you, pal," I said quietly.

Nick leaned back against the tree, pulling me in to rest against him."Cody," he murmured in my ear. "Please, be careful, huh? Until your arm's healed?"

"I will, Nick," I whispered against his neck. "I'll even wear my sling. I promise."

"Thank you." His lips brushed my forehead.

I closed my eyes and relaxed into his arms, feeling the ache in my arm and the remnants of my headache fade to insignificance next to the solid strength of his body against mine.

"Fuck!" Nick said suddenly, and I sat up, turning to him in concern as his body jerked beneath me.

"What's wrong?"

He sneezed and sat up. "These trees, Cody. They stink."

I took a deep breath and inhaled the silky sweetness of the sycamores, stronger now in the sun's heat. I thought of Grandad and scouts and the path I hadn't followed, and turned to my best friend. He was rubbing his nose, looking exasperated, and my love for him hit me like a punch in the gut. "You're right, Nick." I grinned at him. "They really do."


End file.
